As much as 80 per cent of humanitarian aid can be stolen en route. Most often, rebel groups will set up road blocks and "tax" the aid agencies wishing to deliver the aid. In effect, the aid agencies directly support rebel groups by feeding them or providing them with goods that can be traded for arms or other services.

As we all watch in awe as the human train wreck that is Toronto mayor Rob Ford continues to unfold, let us take a moment to reflect on the very ugly role that racism is playing in the Ford saga. I think that many of the people who claim to be disturbed by the fact that Rob Ford does drugs are, on some level, actually disturbed by the fact that Rob Ford (allegedly) smokes crack with Somalians in Little Mogadishu.

The Somali Canadian population is "undergoing the growing pains of integration into the larger Canadian mainstream" according to the head of the influential Somali Canadian Congress. Ahmed Hussen, a noted activist and newly minted Ottawa University lawyer, reflects on mentorship, influence and integration for Canada's large Somali population.

Fatumo's childhood was contained in the world's largest refugee camp; a place we worry carries a stigma for harbouring victims who await handouts. She fought against a bleak fate that seems sealed by outside media: images of desperate people who refuse to help themselves. Instead she chased a dream to study abroad.

Journalists predicted that the rains would come in October, implying that this would end the crisis. But by then, the planting season will have passed. The rains, if they come, will likely bring flooding and disease. The famine may peak in early December, as we are preparing to celebrate our winter holidays.

The East African famine is a crisis that hits close to home for Warsame -- she was born in Mogadishu, Somalia and has family living there. "It could just have easily been me or my son starving over there," she said.

The hallmark of Bono's celebrity activism has been a concern with gaining access to key political decision-makers. However, over the last year the focus of attention has turned away from a fixation with politicians at the apex of power in the traditional global establishment.

David Arap Kilel nearly stumbles up the hill of his slanted farm in pinstripe pants tucked into knee-high gum boots, wet despite the neighbouring dry fields. "I'm the first home in my community with irrigation!" he shouts breathlessly, waving calloused hands.

Since appeals first went out for donations to the east African famine, relief agencies have reported that approximately $16 million has come in from Canada. The figure for Britain, however, stands at £45 million in public donations. Why? It is our lack of organizational ability to combine our efforts that fails.

The crisis in East Africa has prompted Canadians to open their wallets and their hearts, but with the sheer number of government agencies, NGOs and private sector organizations responding to humanitarian crises, it remains difficult to know who to support and how much of the money will actually get there.

The celebrities' call to action on the famine in Somalia is welcome, but the bottom line is that these countries need sustained economic growth. Such strategies are not without risks, however. Businesses must not be permitted to abuse human rights. Foreign investment must not undermine sovereignty.

Once again the pictures of little children starving in Somalia break your heart. But this time there are other pictures that come to mind too: warlords, pirates, radical Islamists... Many will remember when the world was there to help and just how badly it turned out.

The Dadaab refugee camp is an ongoing saga of desperate human need. And with the $50 million Canada recently pledged being only a beginning to address the needs of the region, we must find other ways to leverage more support. Opening another camp would be a good place to start.